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1 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. 8 For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 NRSV)
Happy Wednesday, dear ConCafe Family! A special blessing from the Lord for you, dear Friend! As I asked for prayer yesterday for Mr. Kerry Morgan, and I do not yet have any updates on him, but ask your continued prayers for him and his battle against Covid. His father-in-law, Mr. Pal Lester, was released yesterday from ICU and we pray that Kerry quickly recover soon. Also, our continued prayers for Rev. Rob Clopton, in his painful battle with cancer. Prayers for his family and wife Sandra, especially. Pray for one another, pray for yourselves.
Nellie and I were blessed to walk into and sit inside the ruins of a synagogue that scholars believe ws where Jesus read from this passage from the scroll on that Sabbath and then declared that that passage was fulfilled in Him. We could imagine the reactions from those worshipping in that sacred space on that day, and if they truly knew Who it was Who shared these words from His Father, they would have been blown away! It was a very spiritual moment; as are all moments and encounters with the Lord. God's Spirit spoke these words with the ancient prophet, and many years later, the Spirit leads God's Son to speak the words in a moment of truth to these unsuspecting people near Jesus' hometown. What the prophet wrote and Jesus spoke were what we call The Good News. God was to send an anointed one with "the good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners." Notice each sentence; the brokenhearted will be bound up; the captives are released, as would be the prisioners. Our God is a God of actions that seem opposite to each other, but do the work of healing and making whole. When this would take place would be the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; when those mourning would be comforted, and have their ashes exchanged for garlands, and their mourning and wounds covered in the oil of gladness, all dressed with the mantle (llke a stole worn by pastors and priests) instead of "a faint spirit." And from being weak people they would be transformed into "oaks of righteousness; all a way to have God display His glory. What was once ruined, will be rebuilt like new; repair would come to the ruined; what was thrown down is now raised up and repaired, no matter how long ago the damage was done.
What follows next are words of Who God truly is; He is a lover of justice, a hater of robbery and wrongdoings; God is a giver of recompense, and one who can make and follow through, on an eternal covenant. And God is a giver of promises that He also keeps; the descendants of those who hear and see this anointed one, will be famous, as will their offsprings, and these together will declare they belong to the Lord and who have been blessed by Him. Rejoicing is the byproduct of being in God's presence and favor; and with rejoicing comes the clothing of righteousness, elegance one sees usually at weddings. And all within a coming garden that will remind us of the first garden where life began. God is at work on this even now.
Friends, what a tremendous message to hear all the while we face and endure present circumstances. Some of us are very happy, some are very distressed and worried; but God is at work in all of us. We who love God have God's favor, and we cry out to Him to make this message real and powerful in our lives. Soon celebration will come even in the midst of difficult challenges.
PRAYER: Loving Father, thank You for being with us. You better than any of us what we are feeling deep down inside where we think no one knows or cares; You know and You care. Bring back to life in us and in those we love, what is most needed. May all the promises of this passage become our passage; hear our prayers and our cries;for we pray in the name of He who spoke the truth from You via the prophet. May we listen and rejoice even now, and this we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a true messenger of God in the good news that you share today with all.
Receive my blessings of comfort and joy,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
